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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>From Bonnie O’Day, NFBV General Assembly Legislative Director<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bonnoday@gmail.com">bonnoday@gmail.com</a> <b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'>This email provides a summary of our very successful legislative term with the Virginia General Assembly. In a nutshell, we had four issues: a hiring initiative for individuals with disabilities, a bill to require accessible technology in elementary and secondary schools, a bill requiring all workers with disabilities to be paid minimum wage, and an increase in the budget for the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired. I am pleased to report that the hiring initiative passed, and the education technology bill was referred to a study. We are still waiting to hear about the DBVI budget increase, and the minimum wage bill died in the House of Representatives. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'>Our success is substantially due to robust and enthusiastic participation in the Richmond Seminar, your follow-up calls to General Assembly members, and our hardworking legislative committee, consisting of Bonnie O’Day (Chair), Michael Beattie, Earl Everett, John Halverson, Stewart Prost, Mark Roane, Tracy Soforenko, and Moe Yousef. Derek Manners provided expert legal advice and legislative drafting. We provide more details below.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'>Hiring People with Disabilities.</span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'> HB710, passed unanimously by the Virginia General Assembly and signed by the Governor on April 11, adds hiring of people with disabilities who are otherwise qualified for the job as a priority for local governments to the existing program for prioritizing the hiring of Veterans and Veterans with disabilities. It says simply, “…<span style='background:#FEFEFE'>any locality shall take into consideration or give preference to an individual's status as an honorably discharged veteran of the<s> </s>Armed Forces of the United States or status as a person with a disability in its employment hiring policies and practices, provided that such veteran or person with a disability meets all of the knowledge, skills, and eligibility requirements for the available position.” Now that the bill is law, we must work with local human resources departments to educate them about this important legislation and help to make hiring of people with disabilities by local governments a reality.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:#FEFEFE'>Accessibility of Education Technology.</span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:#FEFEFE'> Based upon testimony from parents and students, we know that school boards are purchasing technology that cannot be used by students who are blind or have other disabilities. The recent shift to virtual learning during the pandemic dramatically increased the access challenges these students face. HB1246, our access to education technology bill, traversed a long and winding road during the legislative session. As originally introduced, it required local school boards to include accessibility requirements in the procurement process for technology used in public schools and required technology vendors to assume the costs arising from any lack of product accessibility. This bill was converted to a study, first conducted by the Virginia Department of Education, and then changed to the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, which consists of House and Senate members, and should provide an unbiased report. We will follow up with the Commission to ensure that the study exposes the problems blind students face with access to technology and includes our suggested solutions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:#FEFEFE'>Minimum Wage.</span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:#FEFEFE'> </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'>HB 676 would eliminate the reference to Section 14(c) in the Virginia minimum wage law. This would require Virginia employers with a federal 14(c) certificate to pay workers with a disability at least the Virginia minimum wage. This bill died in the House, not a surprise since the lobby supporting payment of sub-minimum wages is quite strong. We will continue to work with the growing constituency of minimum wage supporters to ensure that Virginia joins the ten states that already bar the payment of sub-minimum wages to disabled workers. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'>Funding Increase for the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI)</span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'>. Our request for an increase of $842,000 for rehabilitation services for blind and low vision adults was included in both the House and the Senate versions of the budget, but the House and Senate are still working out final budget details with the Governor. We do not have a definitive answer as to whether the increase for DBVI will be included in the final budget.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;background:#FEFEFE'>Thanks to everyone for their hard work during the legislative session. It is due to your diligence that we experienced such success!</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Bonnie O’Day<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#222222'><br><br><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>